Chapter 56: Cutting Water with a Sword
Lately, Aracila had been coming home early in the evening after work.
Now that the investigation into the black magic case had ended, there was no reason for her to stay at the Mage Tower for long.
Even though she didn’t have much work, she felt strangely drained and fatigued. She had planned to wash up, have a simple meal, and rest when someone knocked on the bedroom door.
Audrey, who had gone to check the visitor, returned and said,
“The master has arrived.”
“Damian? What for?”
Ever since their argument in the office, the two of them had been distant.
Although they still forced themselves to keep their agreement to have one meal together daily, there was no conversation between them, which worried the servants.
Since they had already shared breakfast today, she hadn’t expected to see Damian again.
“He says he has something to tell you.”
“…Let him in.”
After a brief hesitation, Aracila nodded. Audrey opened the door to let Damian in and then tactfully withdrew.
With all the servants gone, only Aracila and Damian remained in the bedroom.
“What is it?”
“…”
“Damian, you said you had something to say.”
Aracila stared at Damian, who stood motionless by the door like a statue.
His lips trembled slightly. He had organized his thoughts beforehand, but now that he was facing her, the words refused to come out.
He had planned to apologize for calling her incompetent and suggest that they reinvestigate the Johnny Pattinson case together.
However, as he looked at Aracila sitting before the vanity, staring at him, he couldn’t figure out how to begin.
Aracila slightly furrowed her brows. Feeling her silent impatience, Damian spoke without thinking.
“To my wife…”
Apology first? Or the proposal to cooperate?
“I demand an apology.”
His tangled thoughts spilled out just as tangled from his mouth.
Suddenly, he had become a man who barged in only to demand an apology. Damian was flustered. This wasn’t what he had come for.
As he hurried to correct himself—
“All right, I’ll apologize.”
“…?”
“I’m sorry, Damian.”
Unexpectedly, Aracila’s sincere apology came first.
Now Damian felt even more awkward.
Wasn’t she not the type to apologize so easily…?
But Aracila was actually quick to admit her mistakes when she realized them. She just wasn’t the kind of person to hand out apologies casually.
“You were right. I assumed that because Pattinson was a knight, he was more likely to be guilty.”
“…”
“So when I found something suspicious, I wanted to keep investigating—even though there were inconsistencies in the testimony of the accuser, Sisle.”
After her conversation with Sisle, Aracila had reflected on whether she had truly investigated the case without bias.
The answer was no.
Aside from the dubious aspects of Johnny Pattinson, she had indeed been more suspicious of him simply because he was a knight.
Of course, she hadn’t gone so far as to intend to frame him as guilty, as Damian had accused, but she had lost some objectivity. That was her mistake.
“But the reason I defended Sisle wasn’t because of that. If she was lying and got criticized, that was one thing—but I didn’t want to see her condemned just because she was a woman from the streets.”
Aracila calmly clarified the part Damian had misunderstood.
Since she had admitted her own mistake first, it became easier for Damian to do the same.
“I apologize as well. Because Johnny was my subordinate, I defended him without looking into the details. And I dismissed your words as false.”
Damian, too, had been prejudiced.
Even if he hadn’t said it outright, he had constantly doubted whether Aracila, as a mage, could conduct a proper investigation.
“But I truly didn’t leak the accuser’s identity. After investigating, I found that Johnny’s brother was responsible.”
He corrected Aracila’s misunderstanding.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. As you said, there are suspicious aspects about Johnny. Now that I’m viewing things objectively, I can finally see them.”
Damian finally took a step forward toward Aracila. She also stood up from her chair and faced him.
“I apologize for calling you incompetent. You conducted the investigation properly.”
“I’m sorry for calling you despicable. And for insisting that you were the anonymous informant.”
As they exchanged honest apologies, both of them felt a weight lift from their hearts.
The fog of prejudice that had clouded their judgment finally cleared.
At last, they saw each other properly.
Their hands reached out—and clasped together.
—
Johnny Pattinson was uneasy.
Even though the black magic accusation case that had driven him to the brink had been concluded, he could not find peace of mind.
Perhaps it was because the person who knew the most damning stain on his life was still alive—and residing in the capital.
Sisle.
Just the mere mention of that name made his teeth clench in fury.
When he had first been dragged to the Mage Tower, Johnny hadn’t thought of Sisle at all. Even when Aracila mentioned the date, April 2nd of last year, and forced him to retrace his memories, he still hadn’t recalled her.
It wasn’t until he was locked up in the cold underground prison of the Mage Tower, agonizing over who could have done this to him, that the bitter entanglement he had buried when leaving the border resurfaced.
Immediately, Johnny sent a letter to his older brother, requesting a visit. Since he hadn’t been formally convicted of a crime, he still had some freedom to write letters and receive visitors.
> “Brother, look into a woman named Sisle, who used to work at a tavern near the border. She might be the one who put me in this situation.”
His brother agreed to his request.
After investigating, he discovered that Sisle had come to the capital just last month, and there was even a witness who had seen her visiting the Mage Tower.
Now certain that Sisle was his accuser, Johnny had his brother leak this information to the newspapers.
As a result, just as he had intended, he was released as an innocent man. But the fact that Sisle was still alive and breathing continued to unnerve him.
It felt like this situation could repeat itself at any moment.
> “What if Sisle knows the truth about what happened that day? What if that’s why she accused me…?”
Anxious and unable to sleep, Johnny received a letter from Sisle one week after his release.
> “Sir Pattinson, you know what crime you committed, don’t you?
I have your pendant.
I’m going to tell everyone what you did at the border.”
Reading those words, Johnny’s legs gave out, and he collapsed.
What terrified him wasn’t the threat of his actions at the border being exposed.
> “Sisle has my pendant?!”
The most crucial detail was that the pendant he had desperately tried and failed to retrieve when retreating had somehow ended up in Sisle’s possession.
Johnny’s body trembled violently.
He paced frantically around his room, racking his brain over how to deal with this.
After staying up all night, he finally made a decision.
> “Sisle, this incident has taught me a lot.
It seems people really can’t live with the weight of their sins. Even if you don’t say anything, I plan to confess myself.
Before that, can we meet just one last time?
I want to see that pendant… and truly repent as I reflect on my mistakes.”
Perhaps it was the sweet words he had woven into his letter. Not long after, Sisle sent a positive reply.
Johnny arranged to meet her in secret.
The location was a deserted clearing on the outskirts of the capital, the time set for late at night.
When the appointed day arrived, Johnny disguised himself with a robe and went to the clearing. Sisle was already there, waiting for him.
“It’s been a while, Sisle.”
> “…Sir Pattinson, have you been well?”
She turned at the sound of his voice behind her, her tone cold. Hatred and resentment burned in her eyes as she faced him.
But Johnny was indifferent. After confirming that no one else was around, he removed his hood and stretched out a hand toward her.
“Did you bring my pendant?”
> “Is that what’s important right now?”
“Of course it is! It’s not something I gave you willingly. Hand it over immediately.”
Johnny, too impatient to keep up the act, abandoned any pretense of sweet talk and snapped at her.
Startled by the sudden aggression in his bloodshot eyes, Sisle instinctively stepped back. The pendant was tucked away in the inner pocket of her dress.
> “I can’t do that.”
“—What?”
> “I’ll return it after you publicly confess your crimes.”
Sisle’s voice was firm. The pendant was the only evidence she had, and she had no intention of handing it over easily.
Especially not when Johnny Pattinson showed not even the slightest hint of remorse.
But just as she took a step back—
“Ha… this is ridiculous.”
Johnny’s face twisted with fury.
He threw back his robe, revealing the sword at his waist.
Sisle instinctively stepped further away, her body stiff with fear.
Johnny’s voice turned menacing.
“Hand over the pendant.”
> “No.”
“Then you leave me no choice.”
Without hesitation, Johnny unsheathed his sword and pointed it at her throat.
The deadly gleam of the blade made Sisle’s face drain of color. She screamed.
> “Help! Somebody, please help me!”
“It’s useless, Sisle. No one comes here after dark.”
Johnny sneered. There was a reason he had chosen this location.
“Give me the pendant, and I’ll spare your life.”
> “I’ll never give it to you. You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“Took you long enough to figure it out. Idiot.”
Sisle bit her lower lip, glaring at him.
She already knew what kind of person he was.
And yet, she had let lingering hope lead her here.
> “I’ll expose everything you’ve done. I’ll make sure the truth is known!”
“Go ahead! Who would believe the words of a street woman?”
Johnny, unfazed by her shouting, quickly calculated his next move.
It was clear she would never hand over the pendant willingly.
> “Might as well search her myself and take it now.”
He had planned to deal with her eventually—but he had wanted to retrieve the pendant first.
Since she refused to cooperate, there was no need to wait any longer.
His decision made, Johnny raised his sword high.
Sisle knew she had to run. But her body was frozen in terror.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
> “Ahhh!”
Then, a sudden, piercing scream.
When she hesitantly opened her eyes, Johnny had been thrown backward.
> “Sisle!”
A familiar voice called her name. She turned to see Aracila running toward her.
Realizing that Aracila had saved her life, Sisle collapsed to the ground in relief.
Tears, born of terror, streamed down her face.
> “L-Lady Aracila….”
Aracila knelt beside her and silently patted her trembling back.
Her cold blue eyes locked onto Johnny, who lay sprawled on the ground, dazed from the unexpected magical attack.
Johnny, barely comprehending what had happened, stammered,
> “M-Madam, how are you here…?”
“While investigating your case, I suspected something might happen, so I had people watching both you and Sisle. When I received a report that you both snuck out in the middle of the night, I rushed over.”
Since working with Damian, Aracila had tried to gather more information on the two—but details were harder to come by than expected.
All she knew was that the Red Falcon Knights had once been stationed in a village near the border where Sisle had also lived.
Just as she was wondering how to proceed, Damian had suggested,
> “Johnny’s been looking quite troubled lately. It doesn’t make sense for someone who was declared innocent to be so anxious. I believe it’s because of Sisle.”
> “You think her existence is making him uneasy?”
> “Yes. Which is why I believe he will approach her first. We should have people watch both of them.”
Aracila had agreed, and thanks to their secret surveillance, they had arrived just in time to catch Johnny red-handed.
> “This is absurd…! The Mage Tower’s investigation is over! What authority do you have to keep investigating me?”
Johnny shouted in protest.
Now that the official inquiry was closed, Aracila’s actions could be considered illegal.
> “I won’t accept this—!”
“I authorized it.”
A familiar voice cut in.
Johnny inhaled sharply, his heart dropping.
Turning his head stiffly, he saw Damian standing under the moonlight, his hands in his pockets.
“The Mage Tower’s investigation may be over. But the Knights’ internal inquiry isn’t.”
> “C-Commander…”
Johnny’s lips trembled.
He might have been able to bluff his way past Aracila.
But not Damian. He knew better than anyone—his superior was utterly merciless.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ───
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